The Rum Howler Blog

Review: Bulldog London Dry gin

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 23, 2019

The Bulldog Gin Brand was created in the USA by Anshuman Vohra in 2007. It was introduced in Europe in 2007 and is now owned by Campari Group and distributed in 55 countries worldwide.

This is a London Dry Gin produced from neutral grain alcohol which at 96 % alcohol by volume is infused with the natural flavours and aromas of 12 different botanicals inside a copper pot still. The botanicals used are lemon, almond, lavender, coriander, Angelica, white poppy, oris, dragon eye, lotus leaves, cassia, licorice, and of course juniper.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: Bulldog Gin

“… When I take a sniff, I notice light zesty citrus aromas which are melded fairly well with a light juniper. A touch of earthiness is present with the licorice and the angelica making an appearance, but not disrupting the balance. A spiciness of coriander comes though a little later, with the other botanicals making wispy indistinct impressions …”

Please enjoy the review as well as the cocktail suggestion which accompanies my thoughts.

Chimo!

Posted in Gin, Gin Review | Tagged: Bulldog, Campari, Gin, London Dry, Review | Comments Off on Review: Bulldog London Dry gin

The 2019 Canadian Whisky Awards – Full Awards Listing

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 22, 2019

Here is the full listing of the 2019 Canadian Whisky Awards which are held annually in conjunction with the Victoria Whisky Festival. These awards recognize the very best Canadian whiskies and encourage distillers to maintain the highest quality standards. To qualify, the whisky must be distilled and matured in Canada. An independent panel of whisky experts selects the winners after tasting each whisky blind. Operated on a not-for-profit basis, the Canadian Whisky Awards are fully independent of the Canadian whisky industry.

Awards:

Lifetime Achievement – John K. Hall
Flavoured Whisky Export – Black Velvet Toasted Caramel
Flavoured Whisky Multi-market – Crown Royal Salted Caramel
Whisky Value Domestic – Wayne Gretzky No. 99 Red Cask
Whisky Value Export – Pendleton
Whisky Value Multi-market – Crown Royal Blender’s Mash
Sippin’ Whisky Domestic – Canadian Rockies 21yo
Sippin’ Whisky Export – Rich and Rare Reserve
Sippin’ Whisky Multi-market – Pike Creek Rum Barrel
Award of Excellence – Innovation – Shelter Point Montfort DL
Award of Excellence – Line Extension – Corby NHL Alumni Series
Best Whisky Spirit – Ancient Grains
Artisanal Distiller of the Year – Last Mountain Distillery
Distillery of the Year – JP Wiser’s Distillery

Flavoured Whisky Domestic – Forty Creek Cream
Connoisseur Whisky Domestic – Canadian Club 41yo
Connoisseur Whisky Export – Crown Royal Blender’s Mash 13
Connoisseur Whisky – Multi-market – JP Wiser’s 35yo
Best New Whisky – Bearface
Best Single Malt Whisky – Two Brewers Release 10
Best All-Rye Whisky – Forty Creek 22yo Rye
Best Blended Whisky – Gooderham and Worts Eleven Souls
Blender of the Year – Don Livermore

And, the 2019 Canadian whisky of the year is

Forty Creek 22yo Rye

Gold Medals

Bearface
Canadian Club 41 YO
Canadian Club Classic Small Batch 12 yo
Canadian Rockies 21 yo
Caribou Crossing Single Barrel
Crown Royal 13 year old Blenders Mash
Crown Royal Black
Crown Royal Blenders Mash
Crown Royal XR
Forty Creek 22 yo Rye
Gooderham and Worts Eleven Souls
Gooderham and Worts Four Grain
JP Wiser’s Alumni Whisky Series Wendell Clark
J P Wiser’s 35 yo
JP Wiser’s Canada 2018
Last Mountain Single Cask Wheat Whisky
Lot 40 11 yo Cask Strength
Lot No. 40
Pendleton 1910-12 year old
Pike Creek 21 yo European Finish
Pike Creek Double Barreled Canadian Whisky
Rich and Rare Reserve
Shelter Point Montfort DL
Two Brewers Release 9
Wayne Gretzky No 99 Ninety Nine Proof Whisky

Silver Medals

Black Velvet Onyx
Canadian Club Chairman’s Select 100% Rye
Canadian Rockies 17 yo
Crown Royal LImited Edition
Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye
Crown Royal Reserve
Crown Royal Wine Barrel Finished
Crown Royal XO
De Vine Ancient Grains
Forty Creek Barrel Select
Forty Creek Confederation Oak
Forty Creek Cream
Forty Creek Double Barrel
Forty Creek Unity
Gibsons Finest Bold 8 YO
Gibsons Finest Rare 12 YO
Gibsons Finest Venerable 18 YO
JP Wiser’s Alumni Whisky Series Guy Lafleur
JP Wiser’s Seasoned Oak
JP Wiser’s Triple Barrel Aged 10 Years
JP Wiser’s Triple Barrel Rye 43.4%
Lohin McKinnon Chocolate Malt
Lohin McKinnon Lightly Peated Single Malt
Pendleton Midnight
Pendleton Whisky
Shelter Point Classic Single Malt the Strath Edition
Shelter Point Double Barrelled
Stalk and Barrel Canadian Red Blend
Two Brewers Rel 10
Wayne Gretzky No 99 Ice Cask Whisky
Wayne Gretzky No 99 Red Cask Whisky
Wiser’s Special Blend

Bronze Medals

100 Bushels
Alberta Premium
Black Velvet
Black Velvet Reserve
Black Velvet Toasted Caramel
Canadian Club Barley Batch
Canadian Club Premium 1858
Canadian Mist
Central City Brewing Peeled Orange Liqueur
Collingwood
Collingwood Double Barreled Whisky
Crown Royal Deluxe
Crown Royal Regal Apple
Crown Royal Salted Caramel
Crown Royal Texas Mesquite
Crown Royal Vanilla
Fils du Roy Appalachia’s Canadian Rye
Fils du Roy single malt whisky homage at Congres Mondrian Acadian 2019
Fils du Roy Single Malt, Richelieu International
Forty Creek Copper Pot
Forty Creek Spike
Gibson’s Finest Sterling
Glen Saanich
Golden Stag
High River
JP Wiser’s 18 YO
JP Wiser’s 15 YO
JP Wiser’s Apple
JP Wiser’s Deluxe
JP Wiser’s Old Fashioned Whisky Cocktail
JP Wiser’s Triple Barrel rye 45%
JP Wiser’s Vanilla
Last Mountain Single Cask Rye
Last Mountain Single Malt
Le Rye Sivo
Le Single Malt Sivo
Lohin McKinnon Tequila Barrel Finished
Masterson’s 10 YO Straight Rye Whiskey
NHL Alumni Series, Lanny McDonald
North of 7 4-Grain
North of 7 95% rye
Pemberton Valley Single Malty, 8 YO Single Barrel Organic
Royal Canadian Small Batch
Royal Reserve
Schenley Golden Wedding
Shelter Point Avant-Garde Barley
Shelter Point Cask Strength
Shelter Point Single Malt
Stalk and Barrel 100% Rye Cask Strength
Stalk and Barrel Blue Blend
Stalk and Barrel Single Malt Cask Strength
Two Brewers Rel 11
Two Brewers Release 8
Walkers Special Old Rye

Posted in Awards, Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y | Tagged: 2019, Canadian Whisky Awards, CWA | Comments Off on The 2019 Canadian Whisky Awards – Full Awards Listing

Forty Creek Rye (aged 22 Years) Named CWA 2019 Whisky of the Year

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 21, 2019

This year I was once again honoured to be part of the judging panel for The Annual Canadian Whisky Awards and the results are in. The Canadian Whisky Awards – Whisky of the Year is an all-rye whisky, distilled 22 years ago at Forty Creek Distillery in Grimsby, Ontario.

After blind tastings of well over 100 whiskies, 10 independent whisky experts have declared Forty Creek 22 Year Old Rye as Canadian Whisky of the Year in the ninth annual Canadian Whisky Awards.

Held each January at the Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria, BC, as part of the Victoria Whisky Festival, the Canadian Whisky Awards recognize the very best whiskies produced in Canada.

Awards founder, Davin de Kergommeaux described Forty Creek 22 year-old Rye as:

“A huge, yet elegant rye whisky, just bursting with complex flavours.”

Other top accolades went to whiskies from JP Wiser’s, Canadian Club, Crown Royal, and Gooderham and Worts.

Forty Creek founder, John K. Hall was announced as the first member of the Canadian Whisky Hall of Fame, while Dr. Don Livermore was named Blender of the Year.

According to de Kergommeaux:

“Every year the whiskies are just that much better than the year before. Top whiskies from five or six years ago might earn a silver medal today. The competition is that intense.”

As the Canada’s pre-eminent Canadian whisky competition, the independent judging panel, served up some surprise honours to relative newcomers such as Saskatchewan’s Last Mountain Distillery which took home top spot as Micro-Distillery of the Year.

If this year’s record setting submissions are an indication, Canadian whisky fans have an extremely exciting 2019 to look forward to.

Note: About the Canadian Whisky Awards: The Canadian Whisky Awards, held annually in conjunction with the Victoria Whisky Festival, recognize the very best Canadian whiskies and encourage distillers to maintain the highest quality standards. To qualify, the whisky must be distilled and matured in Canada. An independent panel of whisky experts selects the winners after tasting each whisky blind. Operated on a not-for-profit basis, the Canadian Whisky Awards are fully independent of the Canadian whisky industry.

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y | Tagged: 2019, Canadian Whisky Awards, Whisky | 3 Comments »

Cocktail Bazaar: Cranberry and Peppermint Mule

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 18, 2019

As some of you might know, my 2018 Seasonal Cocktail Bazaar was interrupted when I lost my internet connection last December when I moved into my new house. It took a quite a while to get everything straightened out, but I finally have begun to post more regularly again. It is probably a good time to publish the final posting for that Cocktail Bazaar.

This recipe was sent to my by the Smirnoff Vodka Media team who also sent me samples of the key ingredients such that I could mix and sample the serving at home, which I did over the Christmas Holiday season. The serving was well received by my family, and I suspect that when I have time to share it with my friends and my tasting group that they too will be enamored with the combination of peppermint, cranberry and lime lengthened into a hi-ball with the addition of ginger-ale.

Please don’t wait until next Christmas to try it, I think it will taste grand any time of the year.

Cranberry and Peppermint Mule

Ingredients:

3/4 oz Smirnoff No. 21 Vodka
3/4 oz Smirnoff Peppermint Twist
1 1/2 oz Ocean Spray Cranberry Cocktail
1/4 oz Lime Juice
4 oz. Ginger Ale
Sugar coated Cranberries
Mint

Add Smirnoff Peppermint Twist and Cranberry Cocktail into a metal cocktail shaker with ice
Shake until the outside of the metal shaker begins to frost
Fill a Copper Mug with Ice
Strain the Smirnoff Peppermint Twist and Cranberry Juice over the ice
Top with Ginger Ale
Garnish with sugar coated Cranberries and Mint.

Enjoy Responsibly!

If you are interested in more of my cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!

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Note: Smirnoff Peppermint Twist is a limited seasonal offering from Smirnoff Co. bottled at 30% alcohol by volume. It features a ‘scratch and sniff’ bottle allowing you to enjoy the seasonal scent of peppermint and candy cane before you even open the bottle. You may read my full review of this flavoured vodka here:

Review: Smirnoff Peppermint Twist

” … The peppermint flavoured vodka is perhaps a touch on the sweet side, then again it is the flavours of peppermint and candy cane which are featured and the spirit would not be a true holiday spirit if it did not accurately reflect this sweetness …”

I hope you enjoy the review, Chimo!

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes, Flavoured Vodka, Vodka, Vodka Reviews | Tagged: Bazaar, Cocktail, Cranberry and Peppermint Mule, No.21, Peppermint Twist, Smirnoff | Comments Off on Cocktail Bazaar: Cranberry and Peppermint Mule

And the Best Rums of 2018 were …

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 16, 2019

I hope everyone can forgive my tardiness and that this year I had to pair back my list of the best rums of 2018 from 100 to 50. It wasn’t that I did not encounter enough great spirits to fill the list, rather it was that I did not have enough time at the end of the year to complete the list (see here). In fact my time was compressed to such a degree that my list is publishing about a month after the fact. As I said, I hope you can all forgive me for my tardiness.

About the list, I have tasted each of these rums within the past three years and all of them have been given a full review on my website. You may read these reviews by clicking on each spirit in the list which opens the review page for that cane spirit.

Here is a link to my Countdown list of the best rums of 2018:

The Rum Howler Top 50 Rums of 2018

Please everyone, enjoy the list Responsibly!

Chimo!

Posted in Awards, Extras | Tagged: 2018, Rum howler, Top Rums | 2 Comments »

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